Seizure Care

A seizure is a strong surge of electricity that can affect all or part of the brain and can last seconds to several minutes. If an individual has two unprovoked seizures they are considered to have epilepsy. Symptoms can vary from a seizure showing the convulsive jerking of a tonic/clonic seizure to one that only exhibits staring off for a few seconds, called an absence seizure . There are many different types of seizures. Epileptic seizures are caused by abnormal electrical changes in the brain, in particular, the outer brain layer or cortex. For additional information on epilepsy go to www.epilepsyfoundation.org/

Signs and Symptoms

Seizures can occur while awake or during sleep and can last seconds or several minutes. Signs vary for different types of seizures and can include any listed below;

visual or auditory hallucinations prior to start of seizure, is known as an aura.

stiffening of the limbs(tonic phase) followed by jerking of the limbs and face (clonic phase)

sudden jerk or twitching

unconsciousness -either brief or longer period of time

clumsiness

lapse of awareness-staring- begins and ends abruptly

head drop

Response and Treatment

Keep the person safe until seizure stops

Keep Calm - call to Nurse for assist and state students name

Begin to time the seizure. If medication for seizures is prescribed (rectal diazepam) administer as ordered by Md

Do not hold down

Protect the head by placing soft article beneath the head

Loosen restrictive clothing and remove eyeglasses if need be

The individuals color can become blue during seizure, observe for return of color